1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to method of optimizing delivery of trays and systems using the methods and, more particularly, to a method of optimizing a tray delivery logic by controlling a crane, which transfers the trays, and a system using the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
As demand for high-performance mobile devices increases, demand for improvement in performance of batteries, specially, secondary batteries, is rapidly increasing.
Particularly, middle- or large-sized devices such as notebook computers, portable DVDs, small PCs, electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles require use of a battery module including a plurality of battery cells because of a problem of output or capacity.
A process of manufacturing such a battery module includes assembling battery cells and activating the battery. In the operation of activating the battery, battery cells are loaded onto prescribed jigs and then charged under conditions required for activation. Because conventional secondary batteries such as nickel-cadmium batteries or lead storage batteries can be used directly after being produced, a charge and discharge apparatus was required only for performance evaluation. However, for widely used lithium secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries and lithium-polymer batteries, a predetermined charge and discharge process, that is, an activation process, after the battery has been manufactured must be conducted to ensure the performance as a battery. Therefore, a charge and discharge apparatus is essential for a line for producing secondary batteries.
During a process of producing a secondary battery, to enable an initial assembled battery to store electric energy, the charge and discharge apparatus is used in such a way that a process of charging and discharging the battery is repeatedly conducted several times so as give the battery characteristics as a secondary battery. With supply of secondary batteries increasing due to urgent demand, efficiently controlling the charge and discharge apparatus, which functions to charge and discharge batteries during the process of producing such batteries, has been required.
For this, in the conventional technique, during the process of activating the secondary batteries, a separate logic on the delivery operation of the charge and discharge apparatus has been used to efficiently control the apparatus. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the conventional delivery logic is configured such that unless there is a plurality of delivery-required trays at the time a delivery requirement signal is received, only a single tray is directly transferred. Therefore, working time is increased, and time required to conduct the process of activating battery cells is thus increased, thereby increasing the production cost.
A technique pertaining to such a delivery logic was proposed in Korean Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2013-0025473. However, this conventional technique relates to a system of more reliably transferring products merely by automating the system. That is, this conventional technique has limits in increasing the efficiency and reducing time and cost.